Humans are social creatures. No matter how happy you might be spending time by yourself, science tells us that we are most healthy when we spend time with other people. So over time, our sleep has evolved to aid us in a social environment, boosting the skills we need to navigate this interpersonal world.

This Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to talk about the ways sleep helps us in our romantic relationships specifically. While being in a romantic relationship can be a fun and rewarding experience, it’s also not exactly easy. We humans may be social creatures, but we’re also individuals, and we come into every relationship with our own histories, aspirations, quirks, and pet peeves, which makes blending your life with someone else a definite “learningexperience”, to put it nicely.

Tell someone that you and your better half are expecting, and the first thing out of their mouth will be, “Congratulations!” The next will probably be, “Sleep while you can.”

With newborns waking every two to three hours during their first three months, parents are coming up short on the seven to nine hours of nightly sleep recommended by theNational Sleep Foundation. Sleep interruptions are the most severe with newborns, but can carry on in the following years as little ones navigate potty training, nightmares and the urge to climb in bed with their parents.

For co-parenting couples, striking the right sleep balance with one another can be difficult, but it will be one of the most important things you can do for the sake of your child, your relationship